Babysitting - Omega,OK

I would say I am split on this. I have a friend that has a 21 year old and a 1 year old. He was "forced" to be the live in babysitter until he moved out. In that instance, he could have been out working or going to see his friends, but had to watch his younger siblings (The 1 year old is the youngest, the other two are 7 & 4 I believe). I did not agree with that.

To watch the kids while you run to pick up from school or small grocery run is one thing. But to watch them in place of daycare is a totally differnt playing field.

Can't answer from personal experience. My husband though was sometimes paid to babysit his sister. She is 12 years his junior. If mom & dad were going grocery shopping for 1/2 an hour, then he would not be paid. If however, they were going for dinner and a movie, asked him or his brother to babysit, then they would pay the boys.

In the first instance, it was perceived as part of the obligation of being a family. In the second case, the boys were being made to stay at home when they could otherwise be out to enable their parents to go out (more akin to a job in my inlaws eyes).

Best,
F. B.

I would, unless it is truly just a every once in a while type of thing. If it is every week, or every day, I would pay them a little something even if I just called it their allowance. They did not have the kids, so while families do help each other out they younger kids are really not their responsibility.

My neighbor does it exactly as Fanged Bunny describes.

Sometimes. Depends on the situation. We rarely asked anybody to watch anybody and most of the time we use our niece (who we pay) for date nights.

One of my girls is more in charge of my 2 yr old when we are not home. We give her about $5 a week. But we do give her money now and then as well. My other girl sometimes takes the time to spend with my 6 yr old and we sometimes give her extra. If it was for a date night or something, we would give them money. They buy their own special stuff.

Sometimes my daughter pays the older kids to babysit but mostly helping with the 1 and 3 year olds is part of being a family. The older ones are 11 and 14 and are not mature enough to be left alone with the babies. However when Mom wants to retreat to her room undisturbed she will pay them Babysitting is a way to work off consequences or to earn money for something extra.

I was never paid to babysit my siblings, even when I was an adult babysitting my newborn brother on a daily basis. To me, that's just the sort of thing family does for each other. Even when I was in his school, I didn't charge family for things like that. (Even extended family, I watched my cousin at least once a week.)

That said, if my dd was of babysitting age and I expected her to watch a younger sibling, I think I would base it off of her behavior, responsibility, and other opportunities she may miss out on. If she has been behaving well, I know she will be serious about keeping an eye on the sibling (instead of parking him in front of the TV), or she has to miss out on something else/can't work those hours becaus it's a regular thing I might consider paying her based on what I can afford. I would likely take it on a case-by-case basis.

I'm with fanged bunny on this one too. I only pay my oldest (or second oldest) to watch the younger ones if it is a long time and at a time they could be doing something else. If it is for me to run someone to a rehearsal or practice or to target, it is the responsibility of the family. However, my kids are pretty self sufficient and they don't have to do much except be there in case of an emergency.